A Literary Mixtape to Benefit Literacy Programs

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Ten years ago, Jeff Antebi, the founder of Waxploitation, had the idea to ask his favorite musical artists and contemporary painters to come together and collaborate on original children’s stories to benefit literacy programs, and an unprecedented literary mixtape was born. Today, thirty of those pairings have been compiled into a 350+ page book called Stories for Ways & Means.

Stories for Ways & Means includes original, never-before-seen stories by Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Frank Black, Justin Vernon, Laura Marling, Devendra Banhart, Alison Mosshart and Kathleen Hanna, as well as exclusive artwork from painters/illustrators like Anthony Lister, Dan Baldwin, Swoon, Will Barras, James Jean, Ronzo, Kai & Sunny and more.

Is Stories for Ways & Means truly a children’s book? Yes, if those children are over 17 years of age. It features outré art, strange images, graphic displays of nasty stuff, and cuss words.

In addition to the physical book, there will also be an suite of incredible animations that bring the stories to life in vivid, wonderous fashion. The animations bring together even more well-known collaborators, featuring Danny DeVito, Zach Galifianakis, Nick Offerman, Phil LaMarr, King Krule, Joey Bada$$, and Lauren Lapkus as narrators. Today, the animated story “Oslo and Plum”, written by Jim James of My Morning Jacket, read by Phil Lamar, and illustrated by Jacob Escobedo, can be viewed via Pitchfork.

Stories for Ways & Means will be available as a limited edition, hand numbered, gorgeous hard cover book. The first edition is available on a first come, first serve basis and can be preordered now at SFWAM.org.

Proceeds from sales of the book will benefit Room to Read and Pencils for Promise, two non-profits working to build schools in some of the poorest regions of the world in order to teach children to read and write. Help us empower the next generation of creatives by spreading the word of this amazing, once in a lifetime project.